How Far We've Come
by ColieMacKenzie
Summary: She realizes that in all these years, she's never been surprised that their swing set is always empty... A feel-good story.


**How Far We've Come**

She realizes that in all these years, she's never been surprised that their swing set is always empty. As if subconsciously she expected it to wait just for them, available for all their important moments, its rubber seats swaying gently in the breeze, the chains drumming a metallic beat to the wind's haphazard melodies.

She takes another step, careful where she sets her foot as her heels sink in; the ground and grass muddy from the copious spring rains that had been drenching the city. But the sun finally came out today, a brilliant almost-white against a stark blue sky, a picture-postcard backdrop to the spry, fresh green that shoots from the ground, boundlessly bursts on branches. The air is vibrant, alive with the hum of insects and the excited chatter of birds. It's electrifying and she inhales deeply, soaking in the effervescent energy around her, letting it infuse her lungs, invigorate her from the inside out.

He sits before her, perched on 'his' swing and she takes a long second to stare; to just look and soak in the serenity of this moment. He adjusts in his seat, completely focused for a moment but then he looks up at her, finds her with his eyes, the beautiful blue competing with the sky behind him- and winning. There are laugh lines around his eyes, his mouth tilted into the wide smile that she loves so very much and she feels her knees go a little weak, joy spreading warmly through her insides.

And then her daughter looks up at her from within the cradle of her daddy's arms, her eyes wide and as blue as his, attentive and so curious as she takes in this new world around her, with its myriad of sounds and bright colors; Kate's heart leaps in her chest, she startles forward, bridges the last few steps of distance to her swing.

She feels his eyes on her as she sits down carefully, mindful of the small bundle cradled in her arms.

"He still asleep?"

"Yeah," Kate answers, looking down at her son, his round cheeks rosy with sleep, little rosebud lips open and a bit of drool dribbling out. She wipes it off with a tissue from her pocket, then runs her fingers over the soft curve of his cheek, his warm temple where she can feel the beat of his pulse beneath the thin skin. He inhales deeply but his eyes stay stubbornly closed. The wind ruffles the wisps of his fine brown hair, making it stick up straight from his head as if it's charged and she laughs, adjusts the pale blue knit cap back over his head.

Castle insists they look just like her but she can see him in both their babies, in the tilt of their eyes at the corners, the rim of their cheekbones and the curve of their chin. It's staggering how alike they look; though they are fraternal twins, nobody can tell them apart except the two of them. They usually have a lot of fun with that, but for today they chose traditional clothing, with her baby boy in a light blue romper and her daughter in a pink ruffled dress, with these cute bloomers underneath and tiny white socks on her feet. Socks she is currently busy chewing on, with her toes in her mouth as she gurgles sounds, tells her stories in her own way.

"You wanna wake him?" Castle asks and she shakes her head.

"No. This way they'll look just like who they are." It still amazes her every day; barely two months old but their personalities already so defined, so different in many ways. Her son a quiet little persona who reminds her of her own dad, thoughtful in the ways he regards his surroundings, quiet intelligence in his eyes, and her daughter a bubbly little imp, so excited about the world and with mischief in her smile.

"You guys ready?"

Kate looks up, nods at the photographer she's hired who has set up his camera by now and is waiting for them.

"Okay then, parents, scoot closer together if you can," the photographer instructs and she pushes her swing closer to his with the strength of her legs, leaning toward her husband, more ruggedly handsome to her now than ever, with the laugh lines on his face and the bit more weight around his waist and all hers.

"Turn babies a bit more toward me... yes good, perfect... Here we go." The camera clicks away and she can't help but smile at Castle, feels her happiness stretch wide across her face when he looks at her with such absolute awe on his face.

"I love you," she whispers, for his ears only, here in this place where she asked him to wait for her, where she chose him, where he proposed, where she told him she was pregnant. This is where she wanted to do this, their swings the symbol of how far they've come, the frame to their family.

Their first family portrait.


End file.
